Michael Jordan’s story: From basketball legend to USD billionaire
Up to now, the NBA legend’s successful agreement with the Nike sports fashion brand and the purchase of shares in the Charlotte Hornets basketball team have brought player Michael Jordan’s fortune to level 3. 5 billion USD.
Michael Jordan is in the top 400 richest people in America
Basketball legend Michael Jordan became the first professional sports athlete in the top 400 richest people in America 2023 according to Forbes magazine.
The former basketball superstar owns a net worth of three billion USD, ranking 379th. This magazine said Michael Jordan’s assets increased significantly this year after selling the Charlotte Hornets basketball team for three billion. USD, profit 2.25 billion USD. Previously in 2010, the 60-year-old legend bought the Charlotte Hornets for $275 million.
Michael Jordan was successful in both his basketball career and business after retirement. Photo: Reuters
Player Michael Jordan was born in 1963 in Wilmington, North Carolina.
Ever since he was a student, he played for the University of North Carolina basketball team under legendary coach Dean Smith, who encouraged him to turn professional.
After graduating, Jordan joined the Chicago Bulls team in 1984 and quickly emerged as a star. During the period between 1980 and 1990, Michael Jordan was considered the person who “dominated” this sport.
Since joining the Chicago Bulls, Jordan has led the team to 6 NBA championships, the oldest professional basketball tournament in North America. He himself has also received five MVP awards, given to the best player in an NBA season.
Billion USD “handshake”.
Along with playing basketball, the legendary Jordan also began to be noticed by many brands.
In 1984, the male player signed a 5-year contract with Nike. This historic handshake was worth up to 2.5 million USD, helping to open a new era for the famous Jordan brand of the sportswear company.
Nike’s Air Jordan product line has created a fever since its launch
The cooperation not only caused the male player’s assets to constantly multiply, but also saved the business situation of the entire enterprise. Thanks to Michael Jordan, Nike had a spectacular comeback against two other famous brands, Adidas and Converse.
In 2022, Jordan Brand, whose main product is the Air Jordan line, recorded revenue of 5.1 billion USD, accounting for nearly 11% of Nike’s total revenue, according to the company’s report.
In addition to a percentage from Air Jordan sales and contracts with Nike, Jordan players’ income also comes from many outside advertising contracts.
Specifically, Jordan player also signed a 10-year contract worth 13.5 million USD with sports drink company Gatorade and participated in advertising for the company on television in 1991 with a short film titled “Be like Mike”. ”. He is also the only athlete to appear on Wheaties breakfast cereal boxes 19 times.
According to the New York Times, in 1991, when he was at the peak of his career, he earned an average of 15 – 20 million USD per year just from advertising contracts from many different brands.
Earn a lot by selling shares in Charlotte Hornets
In addition to the money earned through his association with Nike, Jordan also received a large amount of money from the stock purchase of the Charlotte Hornets basketball team.
In 2010, this player bought a controlling stake in the Hornets team, known at that time as the Bobcats.
By 2022, after the NBA was considered the most profitable tournament in the world, share transactions of football teams began to explode. Feeling that this is a potential market, billionaires are racing to “spend money” to own a basketball team.
One of the notable acquisitions during this time period included the founder of wholesale mortgage lender UWM Holdings Corp., billionaire Mat Ishbia, purchasing more than 50% of Phoenix’s shares. Suns at a price of 4 billion USD.
When the opportunity came, Jordan player decided to sell his shares worth up to 3 billion USD in Charlotte Hornets to a group of investors led by Mr. Gabe Plotkin, founder of Melvin Capital Management and Rick Schnall, co-chairman. of Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Private Equity, ranked first.
Michael Jordan is one of three professional athletes to build assets worth more than $1 billion, along with colleague LeBrone James and golfer Tiger Woods, according to Forbes. According to Forbes’ ranking, there are 16 billionaires with a net worth of three billion pounds and ranked 379th like Michael Jordan. Among these are Meg Whitman – former CEO of eBay – and real estate tycoon Jerry Speyer.
In the list of 400 richest people in America from September 2022 to September 2023, Tesla boss Elon Musk is at the top with assets worth 251 billion USD. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos ranked second with $161 billion. Next are billionaires Larry Ellison, Warren Buffett, Larry Page. Billionaire Bill Gates ranked 6th with assets worth 111 billion USD. Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg has a fortune of 106 billion USD, ranking 8th.
Michael Jordan was born in 1963 and is a monument to American and world basketball. The legendary number 23 of the Chicago Bulls and the team won the NBA championship 6 times and were crowned NBA Finals MVP 6 times. Michael Jordan was voted the NBA’s best player of the season 5 times. The former basketball superstar is also “cool” in business, always in the top of the richest sports stars in the world even after retiring.